Alignment maintenance for the rolls of rolling mills



March so, 1937. F, R .5AHL TROM 2,075,574

AL IGNMENT MAINTENANCE FOR THE ROLLS OF ROLLING MILLS Filed Jan. 11,1932 3 Sheets-Sheet .1

i i Irurencor Fi g. Frank 7 Dafilsirom as w.

March 30, 1937.

F. P. DAHLSTROM 2,075,574 ALIGNMENT MAINTENANCE FOR THE ROLLS OF ROLLINGMILLS Filed Jan. 11, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inu'encor Frank P DahlsiromAfiorney March 30, 1937. F, p DAHLSTROM 2,075,574

ALIGNMENT MAINTENANCE FOR THE ROLLS OF ROLLING MILLS Filed Jan. 11, 19325 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor T'rank P Bah lsir om Patented Mar. 30, 1937UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALIGNMENT MAINTENANCE FOR THE ROLLS FROLLING MILLS Frank P. Dahlstrom, Worcester, Mass., assignor to MorganConstruction Company,

Worcester,

41 Claims.

The present application is a continuation, in part, of my copendingapplication Serial No. 437,536, filed March 20, 1930, and the inventionhereof relates in general to roll bearings as used,

for example, in the journalling of rolling mill rolls. In particular,the invention resides in a novel combination and arrangement of parts 1product and on the rolling apparatus, are pro duced when the axes of apair of cooperating reducing rolls become crossed, in consequence of anylateral displacement of either or both of said rolls from its normaloperating position. In other words, it is of prime importance that the saxis of each roll be maintained at right angles to the direction oftravel of the stock passing between said rolls; otherwise the stock mayemerge from said rolls in a deformed condition, or with a tendency totwist, and furthermore, there will be stresses and strains of abnormalproportions set up in the rolling apparatus.

An immediate result of any disturbance of this desired normal rightangle relation between roll axis and direction of stock travel is astrong tendency of the roll to move endwise, due, in the case of a standof two-high rolls, to screwing action between roll surface and stocksurface, and in the case of a stand of four-high or backedup rolls, toscrewing action between the surfaces 5 of working and backing-up rolls.According to the present invention, such endwise tendency of a roll ismade use of, in a highly advantageous manner, to-correct at once thelateral displacement of the roll axis which gave rise to said endwisetendency, thus to restore automatically the desired right angle relationbetween roll axis and direction of stock travel. Other and furtherobjects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description thereof, reference being bad in thisconnection to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a. view inend elevation of a two-high stand of rolls, to which my invention isapplied.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a large scale fragmentary horizontal sectional view,illustrating the action of my invention in automatically restoring thealignment of a roll which has become crossed or laterally displaced.

Fig. 4 is a view in end elevation, showing the application of myinvention to a stand of fourhigh or backed-up rolls.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary large scale horizontal sectional view, similarto Fig. 3, illustrating the action of my invention in automaticallyrestoring the alignment of one of the working rolls of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the rolls of Fig. 4, showing the reactionsthereon when the working rolls become crossed.

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 4, illustrating a. differentembodiment of the invention from that specifically shown by Figs. 4, 5and 6. l

Fig. 8 is a wiring diagram applicable to the embodiment of the inventionshown by Fig. '7.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the numerals I, l designate the twosides of a conventional two-high roll housing, each side having theusual window or opening 2 for the reception of hearing devices whereinare journalled the necks 3 and 4 of cooperating upper and lower reducingrolls 3a and 4a. The proper operation of said rolls is largely dependentupon maintenance of their axes in "parallel and uncrossed relation; andmy invention, as hereinafter described, enables either or both of saidrolls, in the event of such crossing, to restore itself or themselvesautomatically to the desired uncrossed relation where both roll axesstand at right angles to the direction of travel of the stock undergoingreduction. In the form of my invention shown by Figs. 1, 2 and 3, thisautomatic restoration is accom-' plished bya special construction of thebearing in which the necks '3 and 4 of said rolls are journalled.

The bearing devices for the two rolls 3a, and 4a are identical inconstruction, so that a description of one set of these bearing deviceswill suflice for both rolls. Any suitable means for supporting saidbearing devices may be provided; for example, those for the upper rollmay take the form of lugs 5, 5 projecting inwardly of the housingwindows 2, 2, while the lower roll bearings may be supported forvertical adjustment by the usual wedge blocks 6,it being understoodthat, in the operation of the rolls, the upper roll 3a is held to itswork by the usual holding-down screws 1 carried by the housing cap 8 andeffective against the bearings of said roll.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, it is to be noted that each roll neck 3or 4, as the case may be, is surrounded by a bearing member 9, hereshown as made in two parts or halves, so as to allow the provision onthe roll neck of a collar ill; the latter serving to prevent endwisedisplacement of said bearing member 9 and take up for wear on said neck.Any other means for preventing such endwise displacement may be employedwithout departing from my invention, and it is obvious that the latteris not in any way confined to the making of the bearing member 9 in twoparts or halves. Said member 9, as shown,

has convex outer surfaces or sides H, H, the

axis of curvature of the latter intersecting the roll axis at rightangles. For cooperation with each such convex surface II, I provide ashoe l 2, which has a corresponding inner concave surface in oppositionto said convex surface; as shown inFig. 1, the plane bottom edges orsurfaces of these shoes l2, I2, like the corresponding bottom surfacesof the bearing members 9, are slidably supported on the bearing supports5a or 6a, as thecase may be.

Each pair of shoes i2, I2 provides outside surfaces l3, I3 in parallelvertical planes disposed at an inclination to the vertical planecontaining the axis of the associated roll 3a or M, thus to cooperatewith the pair of oppositely acting wedges l4, [4 whose innersurfacescorrespond with said parallel vertical planes, and whose outersurfaces bear against the opposite sides of the housing window 2. Eachof said wedges l4, I4 is adjustably held in position by means of a.screw l5 carried by a bracket or lug l6, attached in any suitable way tothe housing I. It will be understood, of course, that by means of saidscrews l5, IS, the wedges l4, M will be moved in or out, as the case maybe, to establish initially a substantially exact parallelism of the axesof the two cooperating rolls 3a and 4a, so as to secure the desiredright angle relation between said roll axes and the direction of travelof the stock between said rolls.

Let it be assumed, in the operation of reducing rolls journalled in themanner above described, that, from one cause or another, there occurs adisturbance of'this desired right angle relation between the axis ofeither roll and the direction of travel of the stock. Such a conditionis represented, in an exaggerated manner, by the broken axial line 11-11in Figs. 2 and 3, and under these conditions, with the stock travellingin the direction of arrow A, at right angles to the normal line :c-x ofthe roll axis, the reaction between said stock and the displaced rollwill produce a screwing action of said roll toward the left, asrepresented by the arrow B. This left hand endwise movement of the roll,carrying with it the shoes l2, l2, produces, by a relatively shorttraverse of said shoes long the wedges \ll, I4, a

pronounced and immediate shifting of the roll axis from its displacedposition yy to a corrected position :ra:, where it again stands at rightangles to the directionfifo stock travel. As soon as this endwiseshifting ac ion has reestablished the desired right angled relationbetween rgl axis and direction of stock travel, the screwing tendency iswholly eliminated; thus either roll in operation is capable of effectingby itself a restoration of its alignment, whenever its axis gets out ofnormal position.- In other words,

the bearing construction is such that the roll in action isself-aligning; there can never occur any substantial skewing of a rollaxis, or any substantial crossing of the axes of cooperating rolls,because the corrective action above described comes into playimmediately upon the slightest disturbance of the normal right anglerelation between roll axis and the direction of stock travel.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 show the invention in an environment which emphasizesits usefulness, namely, in connection with cooperating working rolls l1and I 8, of relatively small diameter, which, in a manner well known inthe art, are backed-up by larger rolls l 9 and 20, respectively, thelatter being relied upon to provide the 10 necessary resistance to theheavy pressures and strains incident to the passage of the stock betweenthe rolls I1 and I8. Said working rolls l1 and I8, being of relativelysmall diameter, are susceptible, even more than ordinary-size rolls, 15of becoming crossed in operation. Referring to Fig. 4, the roll housing2i, whose windows at opposite sides receive the necks or gudgeons ofboth the working and the backing-up rolls, provides at 'each side asuitable supporting means, as shown 20 at 22, for bearing 23 of theupper backing-up roll l9. From said supporting means 22 may besuspended, as shown at 24, another supporting means 25 on which thebearing devices of the upper working roll I! are carried. Any suitable25 supporting means, as for instance, a member 26 supported on the lugs21, 21 of the housing 2|, may be provided for the bearing devices of thelower working roll l8. These bearing devices for the upper and; lowerworking rolls l1 and I8 are 30 substantially identical in constructionwith the bearing devices shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 for the stand oftwo-high rolls 3a, 4a, and are here indicated by the same referencenumerals with the addition of prime marks, viz., by the reference 35numerals 9 to IE inclusive.

Although the bearing devices of working rolls I1 and I8 aresubstantially identical in construction with those of rolls 3a and 4a,their arrangement must be somewhat different in order to give 0 effectto the influence on said rolls If! and I8 of the backing-up rolls l9 and20. The diagram of Fig. 6 illustrates the situation that arises when,from one cause or another, the axis of the upper working roll I! becomescrossed with rela- 45 tion to the axis of the lower working roll I8, orskewed, as shown in exaggerated form at my, with relation to thedirection of stock travel (arrow A). When the upper working roll I! isskewed as shown in Fig. 6, the stock has a tend- 5 ency to shiftlaterally toward the right hand end of said roll. This tendency producesa certain reaction of the roll I 'l to the left, but this reaction willalways be considerably less than the reaction toward the right that iseffective on said roll l1, due to thefact that said roll I1 is ro tatingin frictional contact with and in skewed relation to the upperbacking-up roll IS. The latter, having a substantially rigid andimmovable mounting in the housing and being made of 60 hard material,exercises on the working roll ll an effect that predominates over theeffect exercised by the stock, since/ said stock is plastic orsemi-plastic and is subject to deformation; in consequence, the majorreaction of the upper working roll l1, under the conditions assumed, istoward the right, and for this reason, the wedges l4, ll of the bearingdevicesrequire an opposite hand arrangement from that shown in Figs. 1,2 and 3 in order to obtainsautomatic 70 ing roll or rolls.

A modification of my invention, shown in Figs. 7 and 8, utilizes in asomewhat different manner the endwise tendency of a crossed or displaced75 correction of the axial displacement of the workright sides of saidhousing.

ill

roll to produce the corrective action by which the normal position ofthe roll axis is restored. Referring to Fig. '7, the working rolls l1,l8 and the backing-up rolls I9, 28' are arranged in the usual manner ina housing- 2l', with their necks received in the windows or openings ofthe up- The necks of the working rolls l1 and I8 are encircled andsupported as shown in Fig. 7, by bearing shoes 28, 28,-and it isapparent that only by constant adjustment of these bearing shoes can therolls I1 and I8 be kept from being crossed, or laterally displaced inaction.

As shown in Fig. 7, each bearing shoe 28 (there being two for eachworking roll, one at either end) is movable in or out by a screw 29,which is turnable in the side of the housing 2| to produce lateralmovement of the shoe. Each screw 29 is connected by suitable gearing 30to a reversible driving motor 3| the latter being operable, ashereinafter described, to move its associated bearing shoe 28 inwardlyor outwardly, as the case may be. for the positioning and maintenance ofthe rolls l1 and I8 in non-crossed relation.

Thewiring diagram of Fig. 8 illustrates the electrical connections bywhich the motors 3|, 3| are operated for the adjustment of the bearingshoes 28, 28, to produce automatically a correction of the positions ofthe working rolls I1, l8 as soon as any lateral displacement of eitherof said working rolls occurs. As shown in said diagram, each roll l1,l8, at the end thereof, carries a suitable conductor 32, .the latterbeing disposed normally in an intermediate non-contacting positionbetween two sets ofgcontacts 33, 33 and 34, 34. When a roll H or l8 getsout of alignment, the endwise movement of the same in one direction orthe other, produced, as above described, by reaction between said rolland the associated backing-up roll, carries the conductor 32 intobridging relation either with the pair of contacts 33, 33 or with thepair of contacts 34, 34, and this action is availed of to inaugurate theoperation of the corresponding motor 3 l in such a direction as to screwthe bearing shoe 28 either inwardly or outwardly, as the case may be,until the correct position of the roll is restored. With suchrestoration of position, which eliminates any endwise tendency of eitherroll, the conductors 32, 32 resume their normal non-contactingpositions, intermediate the sets of contacts 33, 33 and 34, 34, therebyto discontinue the motor operation until the parallelism is againdisturbed; in effect, the conductors 32, 32 have more or less a floatingaction between the opposite sets of contacts while the working rolls arein operation, the motors 3|, 3| thereby being brought intermittentlyinto operation in whichever direction is necessary to substantiallymaintain the axial parallelism of the rolls I1 and I8 at all times.

The electrical connections to accomplish these results are shown in Fig.8, and inasmuch as they are identical for the two rolls l1 and I8, itwill be suflicient to describe the same with reference to one of saidrolls I1 and its adjusting motor 3|.

When the roll 11', by reason of the screwing action produced byskewingof its axis, shifts to the left and causes the conductor 32 tobridge the contacts 33, 33, the current from a suitable source ofelectrical supply, made available by the closure of a switch 35, flowsin a closed circuit containing the operating coil 36 of a contactor orrelay device E, said circuit being closed by the bridging of saidcontacts 33, 33. The energization of coil 36 produces, in the well knownmanner, a right hand movement of the movable member of relay E, therebyto close the normally-open pairs of cooperating contacts 31, 31' and 38,38'; this establishes, in parallel with the circuit containing the coil36, a closed circuit containing the motor 3|, the latter thereuponoperating in such direction as, for example, to screw the bearing shoe28 inwardly, so as to shift the roll I1 far enough to restore itsposition, and thereby overcome the endwise tendency that originallycarried the conductor 32 into engagement with the contacts 33, 33. As aresult of this action, the endwise tendency of said roll is reversed,and the efiect of this is to draw the conductor 32 away from thecontacts 33, 33, whereupon the circuit containing the relay coil 36 isbroken; with the coil 36 thus deenergized, the movable member of therelay returns to its normal position, breaking the circuit of motor 3|that had previously been completed through the contacts 31, 31' and 38,38', and thereby discontinuing the action of said motor in shifting thebearing shoe 28.

Should the adjusting action above described cause the roll to move toofar to the right, or should a screwing action on said roll produced bycrossed axes set up a right hand, instead of a left hand endwisetendency, then the conductor 32 will bridge the contacts 34, 34; underthese circumstances, a circuit containing the operating coil 39 of acontactor or relay device F will be established: The energization ofcoil 39 procures, in the well known manner, the movement of the movablemember of said relay device F, to bring together the normally-open pairsof contacts 40, 40 and 4|, 4|, as a result of which a parallel circuitcontaining the motor 3| is established, in which the current flows tothe motor in the opposite direction from that which prevails when therelay E is made operative. This causes the motor 3| to operate in thereverse direction from that above described, whereby the bearing shoe 28is screwed outwardly far enough to allow the roll axis to have itsposition restored. In this way, the endwise movement of a roll in eitherdirection, as produced by a screwing action when the normal right anglerelation between roll axis and direction of stock travel is disturbed,is made use of to set in operation immediately the necessary correctiveforces,with the result that the ample, in the rolling of strip and likematerial.v

In such rolling, the wear occasioned by the passage of the stockproduces after atime a shallow groove of the width of the stock in thesurface of the roll, and because of this, mill schedules are usuallyarranged so that the widest strip is rolled first, and thereaftersuccessively narrower strips are rolled;-the final procedure, before anywider strip is rolled, being to regrind the roll, so as to avoid anymarking of the product from its overlap of either edge of the shallowgroove.

Such overlap and consequent marking of the product, which comes frompermitting a roll in til operation to shift endwise, does not take placeto any appreciable degree with the arrangement disclosed in Figs. 7 and8, because the electrical contacts tend always to maintain each roll inan endwise position that is substantially fixed. Any deflection fromparallelism that produces momentarily an endwise movement isautomatically responded to immediately by a motor action that, inlaterally adjusting the roll bearings, also sets up, as above described,an opposite endwise movement of the roll, so that the latter at onceresumes its correct position, both laterally and endwise. Thus inrolling strip or the like with the arrangements shown in Figs. '7 and 8,the product will not be marked by the edge of the shallow groove that isworn in either working From the foregoing, it is apparent that by thepresent invention there is provided an extremely effective arrangementfor maintaining the alignment of the rolls of rolling mills. Upontheoccurrence of any condition resulting in a disturbance of the normalright angle relation of a roll axis to the direction of stock travel,the arrangement of the present invention automatically functions inresponse to endwise movement of the roll, due to screwing action of thestock thereon, to forcibly restore the roll axis to its normal position.In thus utilizing endwise movement of a roll, the present inventiondistinguishes from the roll aligning means disclosed in the copendingapplication of Jerome R. George, Serial No. 432,797, filed March 3,1930, wherein lateral displacement of a roll is depended upon to set inoperation the means for restoring a roll axis to its normal condition.

I claim,

1. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll, a bearing for said roll, saidbearing permitting endwise movement of said roll in response to ascrewing action thereon when the roll axis undergoesidisplacement fromits normal right angle relation to the direction of stock travel, andmeans responsive to such endwise roll movement for forcibly restoringthe roll axis to its normal position by pressure exerted on the rollbearing opposite to the direction of roll displacement initiallyresponsible for such endwise roll movement.

2. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll, a bearing for said roll, saidbearing being adapted to follow endwise movement of the roll in responseto screwing action of the stock thereon when the roll axis undergoesdisplacement from its normal right angle relation to the direction ofstock travel, and means responsive to movement of said bearing by suchendwise Fill movement for forcibly restoring the roll axis to its normalposition by pressure exerted on the bearing opposite to the direction ofroll displacement initially responsible for such endwise roll movement.

3. In a rolling mill, a working roll, a backingup roll therefor. abearing for said working roll, said bearing being adapted to followendwise movement of the working roll when the latter on account of beinginskewed relation to the backing-up roll tends to screw endwise, andmeans responsive to movement of said bearing by such endwise workingroll movement for forcibly restoring the working roll axis to its normalunskewed relation with respect to the axis of the backing-up roll.

4. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll, a bearing for said roll, saidbearing being adapted to follow endwise movement of the roll in responseto a screwing action thereon when the roll axis underright anglerelation of the roll axis to the direction of stock travel is restored.

5. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll, a bearing for said roll, saidbearing being adapted to follow endwise movement of the roll in responseto screwing action of the stock thereon when the roll axis undergoesdisplacement from its normal right angle relation to the direction ofstock travel, and a mounting for said bearing providing parallel guidesurfaces extending at an angle to the normal position of the roll axis,said guide surfaces cooperating with said bearing when the latteraccompanies the roll in such endwise movement to forcibly shift theroll, laterally, until the normal 'right angle relation of the roll axisto the direction of stock travel is restored.

6. In a rolling mill, a working roll and a backing-up roll adapted tonormally operate with their axes in parallelism, a bearing for saidworking roll adapted to move endwise with said roll when the latter, bycrossing of its axis with the backing-up roll axis is subjected to ascrewing action, and means responsive to such endwise roll movement forexerting a lateral force on said working parallelism, bearings for saidrolls adapted to move endwise with said-rolls when the latter, bycrossing of their axes, are subjected to screwing action from the stockpassing between them, and means responsive to endwise movement of one ofsaid bearings with its roll for exerting a force on said bearing toshift the same laterally just enough to restore said roll axes to theirnormal condition of parallelism.

8. In a rolling mill, a pair of reducing rolls adapted to normallyoperate with their axes in parallelism, bearings for said rolls adaptedto move endwise with said rolls when the latter, by crossing of theiraxes, are subjected to screwing action from the stock passing betweenthem, and mountings for said bearings providing guide surfacescooperating with corresponding guide surfaces on said bearings toconvert endwise movement of a bearing with its roll into a force tendingto shift said bearing laterally just enough to restore said roll axes toa condition of parallelism.

9. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll, a normally inoperative contactdevice associated with said roll and made operative when said rollundergoes endwise movement in response to screwing action of the stockthereon resulting from displacement of said roll from its normal rightangle relation to the direction of stock travel, and means responsive tothe operative condition of said contact device, as a result of suchendwise roll movement, for restoring the normal right angle relation ofthe roll to the direction of stock travel.

10. In a rolling mill; a reducing roll, a bearing for said roll, anormally inoperative contact device adjacent one end of said roll andmade operative by end": se roll movement when the roll axis is displacefrom its normal right angle relation to the direction of stock travel,and means tact device, as a result of such endwise roll movement, toexert a force for shifting said bearing,

laterally, just enough to restore the normal right angle relation of theroll axis to the direction of stock travel.

11. In a rolling mill, a pair of cooperating rolls normally working withtheir axes in parallelism, normally inoperative contact devicesassociated with said rolls and made operative by endwise movements ofsaid rolls resulting from crossing of the roll axes, and means broughtinto action by the operative condition of said contact devices, as aresult of such endwise roll movements, for

restoring said rolls to a condition of axial parallelism.

12. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll adapted to operate normally withits axis at right angles to the direction of stock travel, a motornormally maintained inoperative, motor operating means set in action byendwise movement of said roll in response to screwing action of thestock thereon when the roll axis undergoes displacement from its normalright anglerelation to the direction of stock travel, and means forshifting the roll by said motor under the control of said motoroperating means until the roll axis resumes its normal position.

13. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll adapted to operate normally withits axis at right angles to the direction of stock travel, a reversiblemotor normally maintained inoperative, motor operating means set inaction by endwise movement of said roll, in one direction or the other,in response to screwing action of the stock thereon when the axis ofsaid roll undergoes displacement, in one direction or the other, fromits normal right angle relation to the direction of stock travel, andmeans for restoring by said motor operation the normal position of saidroll.

14. In a. rolling mill, a pair of reducing rolls adapted to operate withtheir axes in parallelism, bearings for said rolls, a normally inactivemotor,

- contact making and breaking devices responsive to endwise movement ofeither roll in response to 45 screwing action of the stock thereon whenthe axes of said rolls become crossed for initiating action of saidmotor, and means for transmitting to a bearing of one of said rolls theaction of said motor, to restore the roll axes to a condition of 50parallelism.

15. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll, bearings for said rollpermitting endwise movement of said roll in response to a screwingaction thereon, when the roll axis undergoes displacement from 55 itsnormal right angle relation to the direction of stock travel, and meansfor utilizing such endwise roll movement to develop a corrective forceapplied to a roll bearing to restore the roll axis to its normal rightangle relation to the direction 60 of stock travel.

16. In a rolling mill, a working roll, a backingup-roll therefor,bearings for said working roll permitting endwise movement of said roll,when the latter on account of being in skewed relation 65 to thebacking-up roll tends to screw endwise, and means for utilizing suchendwise working roll movement to develop a corrective'force applied to aworln'ng roll bearing to restore the working roll axis to its normalunskewed relation with re- 70 spect to the axis of the backing-up roll.

1'7. In a rolling mill, 9. reducing-roll, bearings for said rollpermitting endwise movement thereof, and means for utilizing endwiseroll movement, in either direction along the roll axis, to develop 75 alateral pressure on a roll bearing opposite to the direction of rolldisplacement initially responsible for such endwise roll movement, asv aresult of screwing action on the roll, whenever its axis shifts from itsnormal right angle relation to the direction of stock travel.

18. In a rolling mill, a working roll, a backingv up roll therefor,bearings for said working roll permitting endwise movement of said roll,when the latter on account of being in skewed relation to the backing-uproll tends to screw endwise, and means for utilizing endwise workingroll movement, in either direction along the roll axis to develop alateral pressure on a roll bearing opposite to the direction of rolldisplacement initially responsible for such endwise roll movement, saidlateral pressure continuing until the working roll axis is restored toits normal unskewed rel'ation with respect to the axis of the backing-uproll.

19. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll, a bearing for said roll adaptedto follow endwise movement thereof, and means cooperating with saidbearing for converting any endwise roll movement into lateral movementof the bearing opposite to the direction of roll displacement initiallyresponsible for such endwise roll movement, whenever the roll axisundergoes displacement from its normal right angle relation to thedirection of stock travel.

20. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll, bearings for said roll adaptedto follow endwise movement thereof, and means cooperating with saidbearings for converting any endwise roll movement, in eitherdirectionalong the roll axis, into lateral movement of each bearing opposite tothe direction of roll displacement initially responsible for suchendwise roll movement, whenever the roll axis undergoes displacementfrom its normal right angle relation to direction of stock travel.

21. In a rolling mill, a working roll, a backingup roll therefor, theaxes of said 'rolls being normally in parallel relation, a bearing forsaid working roll'adapted to follow endwise movement of said roll, andmeans cooperating with said bearing, when the working roll on account ofbeing in skewed relation with the backing-up roll tends to screwendwise, for converting such endwise roll movement into a pressureacting laterally on the roll bearing to restore the working roll axis toits normal unskewed relation with respect to the axis of the backing-uproll.

22. In a rolling mill, a working, roll, a backingup roll therefor, theaxes of said rolls being normally in parallel relation, bearings forsaid working roll adapted to follow endwise movement of the roll, ineither direction along its axis, and means cooperating with saidbearings, when the working roll on account of being in skewed relationto the backing-up roll tends to screw endwise, for converting suchendwise roll movement into pressures acting laterally on the workingroll bearings to restore the working roll axis to its normal unskewedrelation with respect to the axis of the backing-up roll.

23. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll, a bearing for said roll adaptedto follow endwise movement of the roll and providing parallelguidesurfaces inclined with respect to the roll axis, and a mounting for saidroll bearing providing guide surfaces in engagement with the guidesurfaces on said bearing, for converting endwise movement of theroll inresponse to a screwing action thereon, when the roll axis undergoesdisplacement from its normal right angle to the direction of stocktravel, into a reaction between said guide surfaces which shifts theroll, laterally, until the normal right angle relation of the roll axisto the direction of stock travel is restored.

24. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll, bearings for said roll adaptedto follow endwise movement of the roll and providing guide surfacesoppositely inclined with respect to the roll axis, and mountings forsaid bearings providing guide surfaces in engagement with the guidesurfaces of said bear- 10 ing, for converting endwise movement of theroll in response to screwing action of the stock thereon, when the rollaxis undergoes displacement from its normal right angle relation to thedirection of stock travel, into reactions between the engaged guidesurfaces which shift the roll, laterally, until the normal right anglerelation of the roll axis to the direction of stock travel is restored.

25. In a rolling mill, a working roll and a back ing-up roll adapted tonormally operate with their axes in parallelism, a bearing for saidworking roll adapted to move endwise with said roll and providingparallel guide surfaces inclined with respect to the roll axis, and amounting for said roll bearing providing guide surfaces in engagementwith the guide surfaces on said bearing, for converting endwise movementof said roll, when the latter by crossing of its axis with thebacking-up roll axis is subjected to a screwing action, into a reactionbetween said engaged guide surfaces which exerts a lateral force on saidworking roll bearing to shift the same just enough to restore said rollaxes to their normal condition of parallelism.

'26. In a rolling mill, a pair of reducing rolls adapted normally tooperate with their axes in parallelism, bearings for each of said rollsadapted to move endwise therewith and each providing parallel guidesurfaces inclined with respect to the 40 roll axes, and mountings forsaid bearings providing guide surfaces in engagement with said guidesurfaces on said bearings, for converting endwise movement of eitherroll, when the latter by crossing of the roll axes is subjected toscrew- 5 ing action from the stock passing between them,

into a reaction between said engaged guide surfaces which shifts thecorresponding roll bearings laterally, just enough'to restore said rollaxes to a condition of parallelism.

27 In rolling mills, the provision of means for automatically renderingeffective the axially acting forces that are produced when the axes ofcontacting rollers cross one another to adjust the said axes into thesame plane, comprising a bear- 55 ing for one end of one of said rollersconstrained from axial movement in relation to said roller,

a supporting means for said bearing constrained from axial movement inrelation to said bearing,

and a frame part in which said means is movably 60 mounted, thecontacting surfaces of the supporting means and the frame part lying onthe 0ppo.. site sides of the said plane being inclined to the said planeand parallel to each other.

28. In a rolling mill, a reducing roll, end

65 bearings for said roll adapted to follow endwise movement of the rolland each providing parallel and diametrically opposite guide surfacesinclined with respect to the roll axis, and a mounting for each of saidroll bearings providing guide surfaces in engagement with the guidesurfaces on said bearings, for converting endwise movement of the a rollin response to a screwing action thereon, when the roll axis undergoesdisplacement from its normal right angle to the direction of stock 75travel, into a reaction between said guide surfaces which shifts theroll, laterally, until the normal right angle relation of the roll axisto the direction of stock travel is restored.

'29. In rolling mills and the like, the provision of means forautomatically rendering effective the axially acting forces that areproduced when the axes of cooperating rolls become crossed, in order toadjust said axes into a common plane, comprising supporting means forone of said rolls that permits said roll to move endwise under theinfluence of such forces, and means responsive to such endwise rollmovement for laterally adjusting said supporting means to a position inwhich the axis of said roll is cut by said common plane.

30. In a rolling mill or the like, a plurality of cooperating rolls, atleast one of which, in response to operation of same in crossedrelationship to an adjacent roll, is free to move endwise, and means forconverting such endwise roll movement into a lateral adjusting movementof said roll, thereby to shift said roll into uncrossed relationship tosaid adjacent roll.

31. In a rolling mill or the like, a plurality of cooperating rolls, atleast one of which, in response to operation of same in crossedrelationship to an adjacent roll, is free to move endwise, a bearing forsaid roll, adapted to partake of the latters endwise movement, and amounting for said bearing wherein the latter, by such movement islaterally adjusted, to shift said roll into uncrossed relationship tosaid adjacent roll. 32. In a rolling mill or the like, a plurality ofcooperating rolls, at least one of which, in

response to operation of same in crossed relationship to an adjacentroll, is free to move endwise, a bearing for said roll, adapted topartake of the latters endwise movement, and a mounting for said bearingwherein the latter is slidable, said mounting providing guide surfacesfor said hearing at an angle to the line of such endwise movement,whereby to shift said bearing laterally until said roll comes intouncrossed relationship to said adjacent roll.

33. In a rolling mill or the like, a pair of cooperating rolls, bearingsfor said rolls, one of said rolls, in response to screwing action set upby the crossing of the axes of said rolls, being permitted to moveendwise, and means associated with a bearing of one of said rolls forconverting such endwise roll movement into a lateral adjustment of saidbearing, thereby to move the roll associated with said bearing intosubstantially uncrossed axial relationship to the other roll.

34. The combination with a rolling mill roll, of means permittingendwise movement of saidroll in response to screwing action set up byoperation of said roll in crossed relationship to an adjacent roll, andmeans responsive to such endwise motion for laterally shifting one ofsaid rolls to restore automatically the normal uncrossed relationship ofsaid rolls.

35. The combination with a. rolling mill roll, of means permittingendwise movement of said roll in response to screwing action set up byoperation of said roll in crossed relationship to an adjacent roll, andmeans for utilizing such endwise motion to produce a lateral adiustmentof one. of said rolls, which restores the uncrossed relationship of saidroll.

36. Apparatus for causing the axial forces set up in rolling milloperation by crossing of the axes of adjacent cooperating rolls, torestore said axes to a common vertical plane, comprising a roll bearingadapted to move in response to such forces, and a support for saidbearing that permits such movement but imposes thereon a lateralcomponent, thereby, through lateral movement of said bearing, to shiftlaterally the associated roll until its axis reoccupies said commonvertical plane. I

37. The combination with a pair-of cooperating rolls, of meanspermitting endwise movement of one of said rolls in response to axialforces set up by the crossing of the axes of said rolls, and meansresponsive to such endwise movement for laterally moving one of saidrolls to restore the normal uncrossed relationship of said pair ofrolls.

38. In a rolling mill, 2. pair of cooperating rolls, one of said rollsbeing subject to axial forces set up by operation of same in crossedrelation to the other of said rolls, and means brought into operation bysaid axialforces for laterally shifting one of said rolls to restoreautomatically the normal uncrossed relationship of said pair of rolls.

39. In a rolling mill, a pair of rolls, a mounting for one of said rollspermitting the latter to yield to axial forces set up by its operationin crossed relationship to the other roll, and

means for procuring, in response to such yield, a lateral adjustment ofone of said rolls to restore the normal uncrossed relationship of saidpair of rolls.

40. In a rolling mill, the combination with a pair of adjacentcooperating rolls, one arranged to respond to axial forces set up byoperation of said rolls in crossed relationship, of means set inoperation by such response of said roll to said axial forces forlaterally adjusting one of said rolls to restore the normal uncrossedrelationship of said pair of rolls.

41. Apparatus for causing the axial forces set up in rolling milloperation by crossing of the axes of adjacent cooperating rolls torestore said axes to a common vertical plane, comprising a support forone of said rolls, said support being constrained to partake of axialmovement produced by such forces on its associated roll, and guidingmeans for said support making lateral contact therewith on parallelsurfaces that are inclined to said common vertical plane, thereby toobtain a lateral adjustment of said support in a direction to restorethe axis of said roll to said common vertical plane.

FRANK P. DAHLSTROM.

